By Ann Farabee

Feeling of Falling?

Normally I select the title of my column after I write it, but this one fell in line immediately. I was following my grandchildren around the backyard where there is a treehouse, a trampoline, a sandbox, a hammock, very wet muddy terrain. I was the only one who slipped and face planted on the ground. A day later, I lived to write this column and can add to my diagnosis that my neck hurts. Falling is hard at age ???  Hmm. I cannot remember my age! A concussion from the fall,  perhaps?

In case you are have not fallen lately, I will fill you in on the details. Falling is an uncontrolled interruption of balance, resulting in a descent toward the ground. When you begin to fall, finding a way to brace your fall can help. However, it was my head that braced my fall. My involuntary response apparently was to dirt plant my head. When you fall, you may stay in the spot where you fell until someone helps you get up. My first words were, “HELP! I hit my head.” The family members accompanying me got me to a sitting position on the ground, and did not laugh until they were sure I was okay.

Twenty four hours later, my head and entire body still hurt.

 Is that sympathy or laughter I hear resounding throughout the pages of the newspaper as you read this?

Consider this: London Bridge fell. Elvis Presley couldn’t help falling in love with me. Adam and Eve fell. David fell prey to temptation. Ann Farabee fell. That list puts me in a fairly special group.

Our body reflexes prepare our muscular and skeletal system for the imminent collision that comes with a fall. Our arms instinctively go toward the falling surface so we can catch ourselves. Although that sounds helpful, the help from my arms was minimal.

 Looking back over my life, I suppose I fell often, especially on the school playground.

I failed often, too. I still do.

Failing or falling is hard.

But, as hard as it sounds – falling or failing isn’t final.

As I was falling, there was no way to stop it. I could soften the blow a bit, but I was still falling.

As my fall onto the ground was becoming a reality –  I quickly put my best ‘bracing the fall’ technique into practice. That technique was to cry out, “Lord help me!”

I felt: Helpless. Hopeless. Unsafe. Unprotected.

A month later – I am still a pain in the neck.

NO! That was a typo!

I meant to say that I still have a pain in the neck.

The Lord upholds ALL that fall. Psalm 145:14

The Lord will never forsake us.

Realistically speaking, isn’t falling just another way to fly?

Psalm 37:23 -The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.